People’s City Mission serves Thanksgiving meal for homeless in Lincoln

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - It takes hundreds of hands and dozens of turkeys, but the end result?

“It’s a blessing, man,” Earl Johnson, a resident at the People’s City Mission, said. “You really don’t find this every holiday.”

Johnson is one of the 300 folks living in the people’s city mission.

The mission held a Thanksgiving meal today for those who couldn’t afford the holiday or didn’t have a celebration of their own to go to.

“Especially today with the economic hardships many people are suffering from and people who are homeless,” said James Conley, bishop of the Roman Catholic Lincoln Diocese. “A nice home-cooked meal with people and not be alone. Be with others because we’re a community.”

That community is exactly what mission CEO Pastor Tom Barber hopes to create. It’s a feast--the 117th of its kind in the People’s City Mission’s history--that focuses on fellowship as much as it does the food.

“This is a great time,” Barber said. “They connect with each other. If you go to each table, you’ll see the conversations are just a mile a minute. They’re having a good time. There’s community. There’s fellowship. There’s more than just food; it’s a connection.”

Volunteers waited on tables, bringing the turkey and all the fixings to the guests. And for Johnson, the mission has been a springboard, helping him connect with others and set a stable course for his life.

“It’s a great inspiration,” Johnson said. “I’m getting a lot of feedback. I may have fallen, but I’m going to get back up.”

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